Holiday Parade

Here's all the info you need on the downtown Dallas Holiday Parade

I love a parade.

Courtesy photo

The mammoth Dallas Holiday Parade takes place on Saturday, December 1, which will bring great festivity to downtown Dallas, but also a transportation tangle or two.

The parade will begin at 10 am in front of Union Station and takes about an hour. But a number of downtown streets will be closed that morning beginning as early as 7 am, and DART bus passengers will likely find their routes on detour.

The closures and bus detours will begin at about 7 am and run until about 1 pm. If you were planning on a delicious vegan-friendly lunch at the Zodiac Room at Neiman Marcus, maybe go for a late lunch at 1:30 pm to be on the safe side.

The annual parade is expected to draw hundreds of thousands into the downtown area, and begins at 10 am at Commerce and Houston streets. It travels down Commerce to Harwood to Canton, Griffin, and Young, where it will disperse.

Most north and south cross-streets. such as Griffin, Field, and Ervay, will be closed by about 9 am, depending on crowd density.

Commerce will be closed from 7 am-1 pm, as will the staging area, which consists of the blocks in front of Union Station, between Houston and Lamar, and between Young and Commerce.

If you like to watch a parade get prepped, Union Station is the place to be.

A parade festival will begin at 8 am in both Main Street Garden and Belo Garden. The festival will continue until noon.

This year's parade will feature spirited marching bands, famous characters, magical holiday floats, larger-than-life balloons, and much more. While it's free to attend, those wanting assigned bleacher seating for the parade can purchase tickets by clicking here.

They've already begun building bleachers on Commerce for viewing. We're just like New York.

The area around Dallas City Hall will be closed from 9 am-12 noon. One block of Akard Street, between Main and Commerce Streets, right next to the Adolphus, will shut down on Friday night.

DART will augment its normal rail schedule with additional lines as follows:

2 Green Line trains: 7:15 and 8:14 am from North Carrollton/Frankford Station
3 Blue Line trains: 7:19, 7:49, and 8:19 a.m. from Downtown Rowlett Station
4 Red Line trains: 6:48, 7:18, 7:48, and 8:18 a.m. from Parker Road Station

Additional rail service will also be available at the event's conclusion.

But surely you'll want to stick around for the Klyde Warren Park Holiday Show and Tree Lighting, taking place from 2-6 pm.

This free event features a festive day of family-friendly activities and entertainment, including photos with Santa and Mrs. Claus, face painting, crafts, games, refreshments — and, for the first time, real snow. The day will culminate with a special live show featuring Christmas music, the arrival of Santa Claus, and their annual tree lighting.

And if you've stuck around that long, surely you'll want to linger a little longer for the Reliant Lights Your Holidays event at Sammons Park at the AT&T Performing Arts Center at 2403 Flora St., where they’ll be illuminating the Center’s campus with dazzling LED lights to celebrate the arrival of the holiday season.

This festival, also free, includes kids' arts and crafts, a fireworks show, and holiday concert featuring Sheila E., Anita N. Martinez Ballet Folklorico, and Santa Claus.

Consult DART.org or call 214-979-1111 if your travel plans include Routes 2, 11, 12, 19, 21, 26, 29, 35, 42, 52, 59, 60, 76, 81/82, 110, 111, 161, 164, D-Link (722) or 749. Click here to view bus detour information.

holidays downtown

stay alert

Texas shocks as America's No. 3 least safe state in 2026 report

Photo by Hiroshi Kimura on Unsplash

Texas ranks as the 48th "safest" state — out of 50.

While no state is invulnerable, some do more to protect their residents than others. And a new study has declared Texas one of the five least safe states in America.

WalletHub's "Safest States in America (2026)" report examined all 50 states for their emergency preparedness and for residents' personal and residential, financial, workplace, and road safety. Factors that weighed into the rankings include specific crime rates per capita, the share of the population that is uninsured, road quality ratings, workplace injury statistics, and more.

Texas ranked at the bottom of the list as the 48th "safest" state — or the third least safe state. It's joined by several other Southern states, like Mississippi (No. 50), Louisiana (No. 49), Florida (No. 47), and Arkansas (No. 46).

According to WalletHub, Texas specifically ranks third to last in the nationwide "emergency preparedness" category, which was determined based on the prevalence of climate disasters causing $1 billion or more in damages from 1980-2024, and the loss amount resulting from those disasters.

The Lone Star State also ranked 40th (or 10th worst) across three safety categories: personal and residential safety, financial safety, and road safety. The report additionally found that Texas has the highest rate of uninsured residents nationally.

Texas' "workplace safety" was the state's highest-ranking category, landing 30th nationally.

Additional rankings that determined Texas' overall safety include:

No. 30 – Assaults per capita
No. 32 – Fatal occupational injuries per 100,000 full-time workers
No. 32 – Sex offenders per capita
No. 35 – Murders and non-negligent manslaughters per capita
No. 36 – Fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles of travel
No. 41 – Loss amounts from climate disasters per capita

According to the report, the five safest states in America are all located in the Northeast. Vermont leads as the country's safest state in 2026, followed by Massachusetts (No. 2), Maine (No. 3), New Hampshire (No. 4), and Connecticut (No. 5).

Though every state has varying levels of safety, WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo asserted that the safest places in the U.S. categorically invest in protecting their residents. Top-ranking states have low crime rates and diligently maintain their road infrastructure, and other states that prioritize their residents' safety have "strong economies and job markets that prevent people from falling into dangerous financial situations."

"[The safest states in America] have high levels of occupational safety and disaster preparedness, too," Lupo said. "In addition, states are made safer by efforts that individual residents take, such as forming a neighborhood watch or working in firefighting and EMT jobs at high rates."

safety texas wallethub reports